CMU women crush Ohio, now 2-0 in MAC play

In the Mid-American Conference opener they turned the ball over 26 times on the road at unbeaten Ball State.

When you turn it over at wholesale rates on the road at an unbeaten opponent you usually lose by 30 or 40 points right?

But, as it was, the Central Michigan University women’s basketball team somehow beat the Cardinals 69-65 Saturday despite itself.

On Wednesday night from McGuirk Arena the Chippewas were a world removed from Saturday though as they turned in a fine showing in an 82-58 victory over Ohio.

Four Chippewas scored in double figures, led by Tinara Moore’s 22-point and 16-rebound effort, in what was a balanced attack from the hosts throughout.

With the win CMU improves to 10-3 overall and to 2-0 in MAC play while the Bobcats fall to 7-6 overall and to 1-1 in the MAC.

“I’m happy we’re 2-0 in the MAC,” said CMU head coach Sue Guevara, whose team used a 31-15 run in the second quarter to claim a 54-31 halftime lead and never looked back. “I’m very happy we get to play at home, four of our last five have been on the road. I thought with Ohio they make nine threes a game and we held them to five. We’ve been turning the ball over, the goal was no more than 15 and we got 15.”

While Guevara admitted her team’s turnover rate has been alarming and something that needs to be fixed before March rolls around the reality of the situation is her team has won 10 of its 13 starts and is unbeaten in conference play. To steal a road win at Ball State, where CMU rarely wins, was significantly important and Wednesday’s blowout was much-needed for CMU’s confidence.

As for the game itself the Chippewas took a 23-16 lead at the end of one quarter and blew it wide open in the second stanza. They shot 62 percent from the floor in the first half on 21-of-34 shooting while Ohio hit at a 36-percent clip on 12-of-33.

Ohio never really made any significant run in the second half which allowed the hosts to cruise to victory.

Presley Hudson broke out of a minor scoring cold spell in the win as she had 20 points to go along with four assists and four rebounds. Rebounding machine Reyna Frost added in 10 points and 15 boards while sharpshooter Cassie Breen tallied 13 points. Micaela Kelly also had nine points and five assists for the hosts.

Moore also moved into sole possession of second-place all time in career blocks as she recorded three in the game and now has 163 for her career. She entered the contest tied with Ann Skufka (2003-07) with 160 blocks and now only trails Crystal Bradford (2011-15) by eight.

The Chippewas return to action at Miami Saturday at 2 p.m. The RedHawks had their seven-game winning streak snapped at Ball State Wednesday night as they fell to the Cardinals 86-61 to fall to 9-4 overall and to 1-1 in conference play.